Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Today's Designer Showcase is bringing on the "boy" pages. And you'll see that they are not just snips and snails! For a long time the scrapbooking industry seemed to be overlooking that we have guys in our lives that we want to scrap too. Recently several companies have introduced lines that work well for more masculine pages and projects. As mom to 3 boys, that sure makes me happy! Let's have a look at all the great inspiration from the Contributing Artists.

Heather has 2 pages to share today. This first one is a digital page that she did about her son. I love the bright colors and wonderful shapes. A couple of things to point out on this page, the use of both circles and squares, they really work well together. And did you notice that the photo is black and white? I really like how it stands out so well.

In this paper scrap page that Heather is sharing, we can see how she made flowers and flourishes work on a guy page! Love it! There's just enough frill to be pretty and yet enough edgy stuff to be manly! The touches of dark colors, string and tags really help add to that balance. I love the way there are 2 intersecting design triangles on her page with both bring your focus to the picture. Do you see them? The 3 flower clusters are the points of one triangle. The 3 tied up tag ends are the points of the other triangle. Cool!

Here is a page by Nancy that shows off her son. I love how she pumped up the masculine paper patterns by distressing them with inks. Check out the rough edges on the banner. Just the simplest details, but taking that extra time to do that really enhances the layout!

Nancy really made this a guy page. Love the colors that she chose. All the different textures, edges and shapes go so well with the grungy background paper. The question mark in her title is perfect. Seriously? This is studying?!

Cindy's pages always pack a lot of memories. But her story behind this page is a testament to her dedication to capturing those memories. She told me that the photos on this page span more than 2 years. Every time she took a cute sports photo she would accumulate them in an envelope with plans to make this page! That's dedication! Cindy used a sketch by Helen Croft for inspiration in her design. The uniform size and shape of the photos is really cool. I also like the off set partial circles.

Both of these pages are by Vicky. They are both filled with yummy embellishments. I love the way she has made flowers, bling, doilies, butterflies and lacy edge punches work on these guy pages. She does this with the color combinations, the distressed edges (which are so realistically worn!) and the selection of elements and patterns. I really like the clock shapes in both pages. They have a masculine feel and also pull at our heart strings. We can imagine that these photos have captured a moment in time, a giggle, a shared memory. Great representation.

Wow, check out this digital page by Dolores. She has captured the great outdoors in her photo and on her page. The colors of her papers and elements are an extension of her photo. I really like the way she tucked the tree behind the frame made of twigs. It just flows! The light stamped images on her background paper add fine details that bring your eye back into her beautiful photo. She even has a little bit of bling scattered on her page.

This is a page I did with photos from a trip to Old Town San Diego. Love it there! The old west atmosphere was perfect for some photos of the guys. I used some distressing, inks, ripped paper edges and a bit of twine to add to the masculine feel.

Hope you've enjoyed this showcase of some pages for the guys. Be sure to come back next week when we feature some girl pages!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Sara here today to show you how to make your own fake Polaroid
pictures! I remember growing up we only had a Polaroid camera and then
as year went by and Polaroid became a think of the past. But now the
fake Polaroid look is very popular on our layouts.

Start
by cutting your photos so they are square or just about square (mine
are off my my 1/4 inch). Then adhere them on white or cream cardstock
paper as I have above. You want to be sure the left edge of the paper
is a thin boarder and the bottom is wide border.

Cut off the top of the paper leaving the same thin boarder as you did on the left side.

Repeat the same thin boarder by cutting the right side.

Lastly, because I was doing 2 photos at once I has to cut them apart
leaving the same thin boarder on each of them and now you have 2
Polaroid photos!

Here
are my 2 Polaroids in action! These were so easy to make and give such a
fun look to any layout. Keep in mind these can be any size, I think
mini Polaroids would be adroable!

Monday, November 28, 2011

Playing with fonts can be so much fun! They can liven up a layout, be a part of the feeling that you are conveying, and help to express your journaling.

But where to find those fonts? And which fonts to use? If you are like me, this has been one thing that trips me up in getting my layouts done quickly. I can waste hours browsing through my fonts looking for just the right font.

Today I've got a bunch of great font examples to share. You can bookmark this post as a reference so you don't have to spend hours searching for the font that you want to use!

I've created each of the previews of the fonts using that font at 24 points. This will help you to be able to compare their styles and sizes. Each preview is linked to the site where you can download that font.

Let's start off with some great fonts for titles.

Now that you've got your title font selected, it's time to select a journaling font. While you can be quite fancy with your title font, typically you will want your journaling font to be more simple and clear. This will help to make it easy to read, even at a small size. I've previewed these fonts in 24 point to make them easy to see. Each font image is linked to the site for download.

Century Gothic font typically comes with Microsoft and Adobe software

Now that's a whole lot of fonts to digest! There are lots more out there too. A simple search for "free scrapbooking fonts" will turn up a lot more fonts that you may like. If you have a go to font that you like for your titles or journaling, we'd like to know about it. Please leave a comment on this post with what you're favorite fonts are.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Hi everyone. It's Heather and I'm here to share a freebie with you on the busiest shopping day of the year. Happy Black Friday! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving too. As usual, I have a sketch and layered digital template to share. I based this sketch on a paper page that I made earlier this month. Feel free to right click on the image then click on "Save As" to save the sketch to your computer for later use.

I also had time to create a digital example this month. I changed my design a bit and used a plain strip of paper instead of the diamond fussy cut edge. The template contains the original diamond edge. Click here for supply credits.

Here's the link to the free, layered template for my digital girls. I hope you enjoy it!

About Pam Callaghan

Pam Callaghan has been scrapbooking for eleven years. She fell in love with the craft after a friend invited her to a scrapbook party. Pam currently is the project coordinator for Chickaniddy Crafts! She simply loves to create with paper and glue! She also likes to cross stitch, sketch, and take pictures.

Pam currently lives in Tennessee with her loving husband, Kevin and adorable son, Sean. She grew up in the Chicago area and since has lived in Indiana, Florida, and Ohio. They spend their free time going to movies, spoiling their two dogs, visiting local historic sites, and other family activities. Pam and her family are active members of their church and enjoy spreading the gospel.

About this Site

Ideas for Scrapbookers used be a blog with multiple contributors. Since September, 2014, it has become the creative site of Pam Callaghan. Please visit the old posts and keep in mind that not all of the older projects are created by Pam Callaghan. A badge on the bottom of the page or a name above each project will let you know who created it.